Petra

Background

This 300 hectare estate, created by the Moretti family of Bellavista fame, is situated in Suvereto in the Val di Cornia. When Vittorio Moretti, together with his daughter Francesca, set out in search of a property in the Maremma in 1997, they asked Attilio Scienza, Italy’s most celebrated viticultural professor and consultant, to help them find the best spot. Scienza came up with Petra (the name is derived from the Latin for stone, or ‘pietra’ in Italian’), which is southeast of Bolgheri and inland from the sea. The estate now has 97 hectares of vineyard, which surround a splendid modernist winery built by the Swiss architect, Mario Botta.

Consultant Pascal Chatonnet (who, among other properties, works at Vega Sicilia) and newly appointed estate manager, Paolo Trappolini (ex of Avignonesi, when the Falvo family were still involved), are working to ensure that the quality of fruit arriving in the winery is being captured in the finished wines.